FenlandRunner wrote:

Hopefully, the old-fashioned view of must wear boots on the hill is
diminishing?

Depends on what is being done: One or two week treks with heavy packs,
often in less than ideal seasons (my typical "hill" use, due to
geographic reasons) would be pretty miserable without boots...

Sometimes miserable with! ;-)
(I've had boots go mouldy in Scotland!!!)